Rooted in Tradition, Ready for Tomorrow
From 2020 to 2025, donors honored the spirit of UM’s past while looking ahead to a future of promise and possibility.
December 11, 2025
This story is part of “75 Years of Impact,” a celebration marking the University of Montana Foundation’s 75th anniversary. Throughout the year the Foundation has shared stories illustrating the profound impact of donors’ philanthropy at the University of Montana across the decades. To learn more visit SupportUM.org/UMF-75.
When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in America at the beginning of the 2020s, it brought challenging and unprecedented times for the entire nation — including higher education.
Confronted with tremendous challenges, the University of Montana community united to persevere, and private giving once again emerged as a vital stabilizing force.
Aligned with UM’s commitment to meet student needs through enhanced individual academic advising, wellness support, peer mentoring and a new comprehensive career readiness program, donors rallied to support the Uuniversity’s continued delivery of a world-class education to all.
In early 2020, under the umbrella of the record-breaking “Campaign Montana” fundraising initiative (2013-2020), the Foundation partnered with the UM Office for Student Success to establish the UM Emergency Student Support Fund. Nearly 700 donors contributed more than $108,000 to help students cover short-term costs related to technology, housing and medical bills, among other basic needs.
Driven by urgency and a shared sense of purpose, the early 2020s saw a rise in new, more participatory forms of philanthropy. Crowdfunding and digital giving opportunities gained momentum as communities sought ways to pool resources quickly and effectively.
A Resurgence of Collective Giving
Since its earliest days in the 1950s, UM Foundation donors have remained grounded in volunteerism and grassroots action. Even as the size and scope of gifts and opportunities for impact have grown over the decades, the original collaborative spirit of the organization’s founding members has carried on.
Retooled for the 21st century, these collective efforts now use new technology and online platforms to harness the generosity of UM’s expanding giving community.
The Big Give
In April 2020, the Foundation’s Annual Giving Department launched The Big Give, a 24-hour online event held each spring to inspire alumni, donors, parents and friends to support UM students. Hundreds of donors — many giving for the first time — answer the call each year, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for areas like scholarships, student success initiatives, Grizzly Athletics, academic programs and cultural resources such as the Montana Repertory Theatre.
In a testament to the unwavering spirit of generosity at UM, participants help to raise awareness and encourage others to give by serving as Big Give Advocates. Donors also double their impact through match and challenge opportunities.
“Each year, The Big Give is a powerful demonstration of the remarkable giving community that surrounds the University of Montana,” said UM Foundation President and CEO Cindy Williams in a 2025 news release. “This annual tradition directly supports students in so many meaningful ways and inspires us all to think big about UM’s bright future.”
Crowdfunding
In recent years, the Foundation’s annual fall Crowdfunding Campaign has invited campus programs and community-focused causes to raise vital support through online platforms, connecting alumni, parents and friends with projects that inspire them.
Through gifts of every size, donors make an immediate, tangible difference on campus and beyond. Their support has fueled critical areas including student health, leadership development, the ASUM Child Care Preschool, UM’s Military and Veterans Services Office, the Grizzly Marching Band and hands-on learning in journalism and the sciences — elevating University life while strengthening and enriching the broader Missoula community.
Transformative Capital Projects
The early 2020s saw UM in the midst of the largest infrastructure refresh in its history. A major part of that effort involved three projects that signaled bold new eras in some of UM’s most popular areas of excellence: the arts, athletics and music.
Montana Museum of Art and Culture
After occupying temporary spaces across campus for more than 125 years, the Montana Museum of Art and Culture (MMAC) finally found a permanent home in September 2023. Founded in 1897 and once hailed by Newsweek Magazine as “the first art museum in the Inland Northwest,” the MMAC had long lacked adequate exhibition space in which to display major portions of its 11,000-piece collection.
A large group of donors — led by a $12.5 million contribution from the Terry and Patt Payne family — united to raise $15 million to construct a 17,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility west of the Adams Center.
The donor-funded three-level building now houses galleries, classrooms, expanded storage and advanced preservation areas. The museum stands as a beacon for Montana’s arts community and offers the region’s first Advanced Certificate in Museum Studies.
Grizzly Indoor Practice Facility
Hundreds of visitors lined up to tour the much-anticipated Grizzly Indoor Practice Facility during its grand opening in October 2024.
The donor-funded $10.2 million, 111,000-square-foot structure, completed thanks in part to a $3 million gift from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, offers year-round training opportunities for UM’s student-athletes while expanding recreational access for the Missoula community. The facility includes a 100-yard turf field, track and field event space and areas serving both athletics and community partners.
The new addition strengthens UM’s great, century-long tradition in athletics and bolsters the recruiting and retention of future Grizzlies.
Music Building Renovations
Thanks to the generosity of the Don and Donna McCammon family, Richard and Diana Nash and Sue Talbot, who collectively contributed $3 million to the project, the first phase of renovations to UM’s 1950s-era Music Building were completed in 2022.
The building’s choir and band rehearsal rooms and some individual student practice rooms underwent significant upgrades, ensuring enhanced experiences for music study and live performance.
In 2025, the Montana State Legislature appropriated $7.25M for vital improvements to realize full renovation of the remainder of the Music Building, including the Recital Hall. With donor support, $7.25M in philanthropic contributions will unlock the appropriation, ensuring revitalization of one of UM's most heavily used buildings, which serves more than 750 music students each day, as well as 3,300 Montana high school and middle school students who use the building for festivals, camps and competitions each year.
“Treasure Montana” Launched
In April 2024, the UM Foundation and W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation launched the “Treasure Montana: Cultivating Our Tomorrow” fundraising campaign.
The ongoing campaign aims to inspire $20 million in private giving to construct a new, state-of-the-art hub for environmental and conservation research at UM, further enhancing a program already nationally recognized for its leadership in developing science-based solutions to emerging challenges facing the American West.
Donors’ contributions will unlock $52 million appropriated for the project by the Montana Legislature, elevating the work of the Franke College to serve and support citizens, landowners, state partners and industry stakeholders, powering economic impact in the region while advancing cutting-edge research and innovation.
Student, Program and Faculty Support
During the early 2020s, investing directly in student success remained a top priority for donors, as well as elevating the faculty and academic programs that help students pursue their passions and prepare for careers and lives of purpose.
The giving community united to create and develop scholarships and faculty and staff positions, and to uplift academic resources that drive discovery and innovation.
The Payne Family Impact Scholarship
With recruiting, retention and enrollment central to the University’s mission, the Terry and Patt Payne family launched the Payne Family Impact Scholarship in 2022. The scholarship fund is for Montana students who demonstrate significant financial need, particularly those who fall outside the Federal Pell Grant eligibility.
Each year, hundreds of high school graduates receive the four-year renewable award, which can be combined with other aid to cover tuition, books and living expenses.
“Our family is blessed to be able to contribute to the education and future success of Montana students,” Terry Payne said in a news release. “We wish our gift to bring hope to students who otherwise may be unable to attend the University or continue their education once enrolled.”
Siebel-Lewis Chair in Fisheries Science
During a 26-month effort culminating in July 2024, more than 50 donors — led by supporters Ken Siebel, Huey Lewis, Gordon Moore, the Tykeson Family Foundation and the Trailsend Foundation — inspired $5 million in giving to establish an endowed chair in fisheries sciences in UM’s top-ranked wildlife biology program.
The Siebel-Lewis Chair in Fisheries Science further elevates the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation in an area where UM is already a recognized leader. It extends the University’s mission to advance education and management of fisheries in perpetuity, allowing the school to hire a world-renowned expert to continue their research and work at UM.
In 2025, the Franke College also appointed the first Earle and Pattie Layser Endowed Distinguished Professor in Conservation Biology and Policy. The Layser’s gift will bolster education and research supporting the protection and existence of the 34,000-square-mile Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
The Jackson Fork Ranch Project
A significant 2024 gift from Joe Ricketts’ Jackson Fork Ranch launched a multiyear collaboration with the Franke College to study the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Graduate student researchers, supported by fellowships, are exploring topics ranging from bison and invasive plants to migratory species and human-wildlife interactions. The project underscores UM’s commitment to conservation science to better understand and preserve Montana’s natural heritage.
James and Lois Welch Distinguished Native American Visiting Writer Fund
Established in 2021 by former UM Professor Lois Welch to honor her late husband, acclaimed author James Welch, and beginning in 2023, the fund brings a prominent Indigenous writer to campus each spring to teach and engage with students.
It fortifies UM’s nationally recognized creative writing program — which has produced Pulitzer Prize winners and bestselling authors — while amplifying Native voices in literature.
The position will become endowed through a future estate gift from Lois Welch.
L.S. Skaggs Institute for Health Innovation
In 2023, The ALSAM Foundation awarded UM’s L.S. Skaggs Institute for Health Innovation (SIHI) an $8 million grant to create a statewide hub for health education, research and outreach. The ALSAM grant unlocked $2 million in matching gifts from donors and extramural grants. The grant allows SIHI to engage a wide variety of stakeholders committed to improving health outcomes of all Montanans, as well as to construct a community facing high-tech space to house SIHI programs.
As part of UM’s College of Health, SIHI works to reduce health challenges facing Montanans and improve access in rural and tribal communities through pharmacist-led, team-based care. Building on the Skaggs School of Pharmacy’s national reputation, the institute integrates research in precision medicine and pharmacogenomics while training students in emerging health technologies.
A Future of Promise and Purpose
On Oct. 9, 2025, supporters from across generations gathered at the University Center Ballroom for a special evening honoring 75 years of philanthropic support for the University of Montana.
The celebration capped the UM Foundation’s “75 Years of Impact” initiative, commemorating the legacy built by donors of life-changing support for students and faculty; campus expansion and renewal; state-of-the-art research and innovation; and renowned academic and athletic programs.
"We have the privilege of extending our deepest gratitude to you, our donors and volunteers,” Williams said in her remarks at the event. “Your collective commitment has created waves of lasting impact far beyond what our founders could have imagined.”
Seventy-five years after the UM Foundation’s formation, private giving remains more vital than ever to the University’s success. Thousands of alumni, families, friends and partners continue to invest their time, energy and resources helping UM and its students thrive and ensuring the University remains a vital economic driver for Montana and the region.
What began as a small circle of supporters united by a belief in accessible, world-class education has grown into a vibrant, multigenerational community whose loyalty, spirit and dedication have fueled decades of impact.
Over the past 75 years, donors have contributed more than one billion dollars for the University, touching countless lives. Their generosity has powered four record-breaking campaigns, which helped shape nearly every corner of campus and elevated what philanthropy can achieve at UM.
As higher education continues to evolve, UM’s donor community has positioned the University to meet future opportunities and challenges from a place of strength.
In fall 2025, the University celebrated its fifth consecutive year of enrollment growth, as well as the highest student retention rate in its history. Since 2022, UM has been classified as an R1 research university, placing it among the nation’s most research-intensive institutions. Its top scholars have been awarded the nation’s highest academic honors, including Rhodes Scholarships, Udall Scholarships and Goldwater Scholarships.
UM has been named the No. 1 school in the country for national and community service for three consecutive years and, in 2025, the No. 1 most military-friendly school in the nation. Among the University's 2024 graduates, 90% reported being employed, continuing their education, in the military or engaged in other forms of service within six months of graduation.
These achievements are made possible in part because of philanthropy. Ongoing support will ensure that UM remains not only a place of learning but a dynamic, premier destination for students that fosters connection, holistic personal and professional growth and career readiness.
To all those who have become part of the University’s story, we thank you. To those who will join us in the years ahead, your participation will help UM continue to forge the leaders and informed citizens of tomorrow, strengthening communities and expanding opportunity for all.
The next 75 years will call upon the same spirit of collaboration and generosity that brought us to this moment.
Your collective commitment will continue to ensure that the lives we change will change the world.
To learn more about the Foundation’s 75th anniversary and read feature stories spanning the decades, please visit SupportUM.org/UMF-75.
The information on this website was compiled from a variety of sources, including records held by the UM Foundation and the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections. The UM Foundation has made its best efforts to provide an accurate representation of events, people, entities, names, activities and data. However, the information presented should not be considered a definitive historical record.